List of pop culture references in Warcraft/BC

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World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Comic and manga

Gaming

  • Command & Conquer, Tiberium universe — The red crystals on Bloodmyst Isle bear a heavy resemblance to Tiberium in appearance and behavior, as it infests and mutates the flora and fauna on the island.
  • Doom — The sounds made by the variations of Stags are almost directly taken from the sound palette of the imps found in the game Doom.
  • Duke Nukem 3D — The sound the Felboars and Helboars shriek when they aggro is strongly reminiscent of the LARD pig-cops you encounter in several areas of this game.
  • Final Fantasy —  [The Gunblade] is probably a reference to Final Fantasy VIII, where main character Squall Leonhart uses a "Gunblade" as his signature weapon. The WoW weapon, however, does not look anything like the Gunblade used in FFVIII.
  • Kingdom Hearts — Chief Engineer Lorthander, who wields a Keyblade, a reference to the weapons in the Kingdom Hearts series.
  • Killer Instinct — Glacius and Fulgorge reference the characters Glacius, an alien made of ice, and Fulgore, a cyborg, from the rare fighting series.
  • Magic: The Gathering — Gruul, a massive cyclopean giant, is a reference to the Gruul guild in Magic: The Gathering, which was led by the cyclops Borborygmos.
  • Metal Gear — B [25-30] To Legion Hold, where you have to spy on enemies while you are disguised as a wooden crate, is a reference to the Metal Gear series, where the main character Solid Snake often uses a cardboard box to move around undetected.
  • Paranoia — Arcane Guardians sometimes say "Happiness is mandatory, Citizen!". This is a direct quote from the role-playing game.
  • Oddworld — The Ravager bears an extremely striking resemblance to the Scrabs in the various Oddworld games.
  • Sinistar — The Essence of Anger part of the Reliquary of Souls will shout "Beware - I live.", a quote Sinistar shouts when he is fully formed and start actively seeking the player out.
  • Skyrealms of Jorune — Lake Jorune in Terokkar is a reference to this pen-and-paper roleplaying game from the '80s and early '90s.
  • StarCraft — Sky Commander Adaris and Vindicator Aldar are possible references to Judicator Aldaris.
  • Street Fighter — [Eviscerate]'s animation is identical to Ken and Ryu's Shoryuken animation.
  • Yogurting — The female Blood Elf's dance moves are taken from the animated "Always" promotional video for this Korean video game. The video became a minor internet phenomenon, spawning another popular video of a dancer using the moves with Britney Spears' "Toxic" playing in the background.
  • Zero Wing — B [25-30] Setting Up the Bomb is a reference to the mistranslated quote "Somebody set up us the bomb!"

Literature

Movies and television

  • Apocalypse Now — After respawning, Captain Arathyn says "I love the smell of nether in the morning. It smells like...victory", one of the more famous quotes from above movie, originally "napalm" instead of "nether", said by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore.
  • Aliens
    • Outside of the Skyguard Outpost, the Skyguard gear up for their flight on the Bash'ir Landing about every two hours. During their pep talk, the Skyguard Lieutenant asks "Anyone have any questions?" to which a Ranger replies "Look, man, I only need to know one thing, where they are." This is a direct quotation from the 1986 movie Aliens where the Marines are getting a briefing from their Lieutenant and Private First Class Jenette Vasquez chimes in cockily with the above quote.
    • When engaged, Voidhunter Yar says "In the void, no one can hear you scream!"
  • Austin Powers
  • Babylon 5 — Velen is almost certainly a reference to the Minbari prophet Valen.
  • Battlestar Galactica — In the Blizzard website promoting the new Arena Tournament, the promotional pictures show a female blood elf named "Boomer" fighting against a draenei warrior named "Apollo" as well as a rogue canamedlled "Gaius", in reference to the Battlestar Galactica characters Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, Lee "Apollo" Adama, and Gaius Baltar.
  • Bio-Dome — Located inside of the Eco-Dome Midrealm stands Shauly Pore, which is a reference to actor and comedian Pauly Shore, who starred in this 1996 movie.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer —  [The Seal of Danzalar] is a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The phrase "From beneath you, it devours" comes from a reference in the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; it translates to the gateway to the Sunnydale Hellmouth. The item's name is a play on "The Seal of Danzalthar" which is the name of the seal that covers the Sunnydale Hellmouth.
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers — The female blood elf laugh is meant to reference the catchphrase of Doctor Blight from the TV series. Also, the image that displays next to the health bars of Blood Elf females in your party that are outside your visual range bears a distinct resemblance to the Doctor.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind — Innkeeper Remi Dodoso's name spells out the notes "Re" "Mi" "Do" "Do" "So" in the solfege scale. This is a reference to the musical theme used in the movie to communicate with the aliens which have landed on Earth.
  • Cruel Intentions — H [10-30] Cruel's Intentions is named for this film.
  • Dirty Harry — "Dirty" Larry <Ruffian> is a reference to this movie and its main character, "Dirty" Harry Callahan.
  • Dirty Jobs — "Dirty" Michael Crowe is a reference to Mike Rowe who is the star of the show.
  • Fight Club — Barimoke Wildbeard and Bron Goldhammer have a routine that starts of with "Bron! 'Ey, Bron! Hit me!". This is a reference to the first fight between the narrator and Tyler Durden.
  • Finding Nemo —  [Shark Bait]'s name is taken directly from the nickname given to Nemo by his fellow tankmates. The picture used for the item is also a Clownfish, just like Nemo. The quote "Just keep swimming..." was part of a catchy phrase said throughout the movie by Dory, voiced by Ellen Degeneres.
  • Firefly
    • K. Lee Smallfry <Engineering Trainer> is a reference to the character Kaylee Frye, the engineer on the show. Her dialog includes the word "shiny", a common adjective for "good" used on the show.
    •  [Captured Firefly] has the flavor text "Still flying..." which is a line from the show.
    • During Brewfest, one of the beers you can purchase is  [Mudder's Milk], which is from the episode "Jaynestown."
    • Mingo and Fanty are named after the twins who engage Mal to perform the robbery from Serenity's opening sequence.
    •  [Strange Engine Part] and  [Broken Engine Part] bear the description: "It reads 'Capissen 38' on the bottom." This is a reference to Kaylee Frye's line in the movie: "Don't ride in anything with a Capissen 38 engine, they fall right out of the sky."
    • Caregiver Inaara <Innkeeper> is a reference to the Companion character Inara Serra. Her face and outfit looks also very similar to the series' character.
  • Full Metal Jacket — The  [Booterang] has printed on it the first two lines of the Rifleman's Creed. The Creed pre-dates Full Metal Jacket by about 45 years, but was popularized by this movie.
  • Futurama
    • In the Apothecarium area is a large, stitched together thing that periodically blorps a load of the green funk that fills the Canals, vaguely reminiscent of the Slurm Queen's behind in the episode "Fry & The Slurm Factory."
    • Nibblet is probably a reference to the monkey/cat-like pet alien "Nibbler" from the show.
  • Heavy Metal — The blood elf NPC speech "Death to all who oppose us!" may be a reference to a character in the final story who says the beforementioned after the main antagonist of the movie turns him and his people into ruthless killing machines.
  • Gladiator —  [Gladiator's Greatsword] is indicated to be built to "Proximo's specification" in the item description. Proximo was the slave trader/former gladiator who bought Maximus and trained him as a gladiator.
  • Indiana Jones — Harrison Jones is an obvious reference to starring actor Harrison Ford and his role as the title character. In his dialogue, he accuses the player of only wanting to acquire Zul'Aman's treasures for themselves, instead of taking them to a museum where they belong, in his opinion (which is one of Jones' main motives for his expeditions).
  • M*A*S*H — The Skyguard folk at Skyguard Outpost occasionally say "Player is an officer and a gentlewoman/man." This is the same thing Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan says in the M*A*S*H play.
  • MacGyver — Mack Diver is a reference to Richard Dean Anderson's character MacGyver in the series of the same name.
  • Masters of the Universe
    • Adam Eternum is a reference to the popular Masters of the Universe character "He-Man", whose real name is Adam. He also has a Zulian Battle-tiger as a pet, in reference to his tiger, Cringer. He also appears with a gnome behind him called Oric Coe, in reference to Orko.
    • Keldor the Lost continues the reference to Masters of the Universe. "Keldor" was the identity of He-Man's arch-nemesis, prior to his transformation into the evil Skeletor. Being undead, Keldor the Lost's hood, glowing eyes, dark blue attire, and skull-tipped staff all bear a striking resemblance to Skeletor. I
  • Men in Black
    • The Netherstorm Agents in Area 52 are all dressed in tuxedos resembling the business suits from the Men in Black comics and movies. They also carry the huge guns that Tommy Lee Jones equipped in the first movie.
    • When you leave Area 52 you will be hit by a flash of light and you receive a buff called A-52 Neuralyzer whose tooltip says: "The flash of light you did not see did not erase your memories". This is a reference to the "Neuralizer" device that the Men in Black used to erase and alter the memories of the people who saw an alien.
  • Monty Python's Flying Circus — The Dark Iron Guzzlers shout, "No one expects the Dark Iron Dwarves!", a reference to the recurring Spanish Inquisition sketch.
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail
    • Bot-Specialist Alley <B.O.O.M.> stands with her bots Maxx A. Million Mk. I, II, and V. The names of her bots are a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, where King Arthur goes to 'cook' the Holy Hand Grenade and exclaims "One, two, FIVE!".
    • In N [10-30D] Bring Me A Shrubbery! is reference when the Knights of Ni in the movie demanded that King Arthur bring them a shrubbery before they'd let him pass. The repeatable part of this quest is called N [10-30D] Bring Me Another Shrubbery!, which is a reference to their followup demand.
  • Napoleon Dynamite — The male blood elf's dance moves are taken directly from Napoleon's choreographed dance sequence at the end of the movie.
  • Once Were Warriors — H [15-30] Once Were Warriors could very well be directly related to the popular New Zealand movie by the same name. The emotions described within the quest text seem to confirm this more.
  • Pee-wee's Playhouse — T'chali the Witch Doctor is possibly a reference to another similarly colored disembodied head, Jambi the Genie.
  • RoboCop — The lines recited by the Arcane Patrollers are RoboCop's prime directives: "Protect the innocent", "Serve the Public Trust", and "Uphold the Law."
  • Saturday Night Live — N [25-30] Needs More Cowbell is a reference to the famous Christopher Walkin sketch.
  • Snakes on a Plane — In Nesingwary Safari, there is a gnome style plane crashed into the ground. Unmoving snake critters spawn atop it.
  • Stargate SG-1
  • South Park
    • Ethereal NPCs near Manaforge Ultris quotes this episode saying "How do you defeat that which has no life?", referring to the Ethereum Gladiator, who's always looking for a bigger and better challenge, in episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft."
    • One of the draenei male's jokes mimics the Underpants Gnomes' plan for profit.
    • Hemet Nesingwary in Nagrand will occasionally fire his gun at nearby talbuks and yell "It's coming right for us!" This is a clear reference to an early episode of South Park where Jimbo and Ned took the boys hunting.
    • See also:  [Sword of a Thousand Truths]
  • Star Trek
    • N [25-30] You're Hired!, where you search for Etherlithium Matrix Crystals, is a play on the Dilithium Matrix Crystals used to redirect energy generated in warp engines.
    • In Exodar, there is a group of draenei that walk around checking out the holograms, named Audrid, Curzon, Emony, Tobin and Torias. They were all hosts of the Dax symbiont in Deep Space Nine.
    • After completing N [25-30] That Little Extra Kick, the giver and receiver of this quest (Boots) dies. A goblin paramedic rushes in to stimulate his heart. After a couple of shocks, the paramedic screams "Dammit Boots, I'm a doctor, not a priest!" which is a reference to Lenoard 'Bones' McCoy's line "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a <insert profession>" from the original Star Trek series.
    • Smiles O'Byron is a reference to Miles O'Brien, who is also referred to as Smiley in the alternate universe episodes of Deep Space Nine.
    • Warden Treelos sometimes says "There are FOUR lights!", which refers to the double The Next Generation episode "Chain of Command". Captain Jean-Luc Picard is captured by Cardassians, then tortured to break his will, in order to get him to admit he sees five lights where there are actually only four.
    • Jhordy Lapforge and Scooty nod to Geordi LaForge for Star Trek: The Next Generation and to Montgomery "Scotty" Scott for the original series.
    • Trelleum Mine is named after the mineral known as trellium in Star Trek: Enterprise.
    • Netherstorm has similar colors and chaotic theme as the Delphic Expanse. Prior to patch 2.4 warlocks could not summon in the Netherstorm like certain starship functions do not work in the Expanse.
    • Ohura is a tribute to Uhura, communications officer on the USS Enterprise.
    • Chief Engineer Trep is a reference to Chief Engineer Charles "Trip" Tucker III from Star Trek: Enterprise.
  • Star Wars
    • In the Badlands, Lotwil Veriatus's robot Servo says "I am well versed in over 4 languages". This is a reference to C-3PO who states "I am well-versed in over 6 million forms of communication" several times.
    • The racetrack in the Shimmering Flats features a vehicle that is strikingly similar to the podracers found in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
    • The race announcer is a two headed ogre is named Fobeed referencing the two headed podracer announcer in The Phantom Menace whose names were Fode and Beed.
    • In the hangar in the Military Ward of Ironforge sits a dwarf pilot by the name of Xiggs Fuselighter, wearing a white and orange flightsuit, black gloves, and boots strikingly similar to that of an X-Wing pilot. This is a reference to Luke Skywalker's friend Biggs Darklighter, whom you see in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
    • The tooltip of the buff icon for the Priest ability Spirit Of Redemption reads "You have become more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine." which is an almost verbatim reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's line in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
    • Female dwarves and gnomes have a hairstyle similar to that of "Princess Leia".
    • In Un'Goro crater, near the exit to Silithus, there is a level 1 raptor named Obi, a reference to Obi-Wan (Obi 1).
    • The  [Argent Avenger], a one-handed sword resulting from a quest in Stratholme, vaguely resembles a blue lightsaber. Also,  [Teebu's Blazing Longsword] is it's red counterpart.
    • In a quest to rescue the captured Princess Moira Bronzebeard, you find her wearing an outfit that bears a striking resemblance to Leia's slave outfit in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as the same hairstyle.
    • In Blade's Edge Mountains there is a place called Toshley's Station. In Star Wars there was a place called Toshe Station in which Luke Skywalker went to in the beginning of one of the Movies to pick up some Power Converters. The quest "Picking Up Some Power Converters" will reward you with a Power Converter. The two descriptions on the item are both references to Episode IV: "Use: Destroys technological terror constructs." is from Darth Vader's quote "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed," and "The next best thing to going to the Academy" is because Luke's always talking about going to the Academy. The Power Converter shoots off a red rocket that many think looks like the missile Luke fires to destroy the Death Star.
    • Roll a Draenei and you'll eventually get a quest called "The Kessel Run" given to you by an NPC named Kessel. You don't have to do this quest in "less than twelve parsecs" like Han Solo was able to do with the Millennium Falcon, but you will have to complete this quest in less than 15 minutes.
    • Nearby Toshley's Station stands R3D0, a remote sentry that can speak in three different languages (Human, Gnomish, and Dwarven). This is an obvious reference to C3PO, who was able to speak six million languages. The name is also a mesh between R2D2 and C3P0, the two robots in the movie.
    • In the Scarlet Raven Tavern in Darkshire there is a barkeeper named "Barkeeper Han" which is a reference to Han solo in Star Wars.
    • In Nagrand a Clefthoof Elite Named Mob is Called Banthar. If you drop the r off the end you get Bantha, a creature very similar to a Wooly Mammoth in the Star Wars Series, Banthar also look similar to a Wooly Mammoth.
    • The Azuremyst Isles are filled with NPCs, quests, and items that reference several science fiction stories, most notably Star Wars. For instance, the flight master of Blood Watch is named Laando (after Lando Calrissian). In addition to this, a quest on Bloodmyst Isle is named A [1-30] The Kessel Run.
    • Baron Sablemane will give you a quest named B [20-30] It's a Trap! — likely a reference to Admiral Ackbar's famous catchphrase.
    • Toshley's Station also has a quest named, Cutting Your Teeth. The rewards from this quest include Vibro Shanker, Vibro Dagger, and Vibro Sword. These weapons are a reference to the Star Wars, Vibrosword, Vibroaxe, Vibrodagger, which in turn are inspired by other sci-fi universes of that age.
    • The [Blade Merchants in Halaa in Nagrand are Coreiel when Halaa is Horde controlled and Aldraan when Alliance controlled. These are references to Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan and Han Solo's homeworld of Corellia.
    • The NPC, Commander Duron may be named after Kyp Duron from the Star Wars novels.
  • Starship Troopers
    • At Toshley's Station in Blade's Edge Mountains, you can find a gnome named Razak Ironsides patrolling the station's ramparts, which is a likely reference to Lieutenant Jean Rasczak played by Michael Ironside. This reference is highlighted by the fact that he is defending the outposts against Ravagers, a kind of creature resembling the insect-aliens of the movie. There is also a guard named Dizzy Dina, in reference to Dizzy Flores, played by Dina Meyer.
    • Sometimes an event will start at Toshley's Station, where Ravagers attack the station. As the gnome guards rush to defend, you will hear Razak Ironsides yelling various quotes from Micheal Ironside in the Starship Troopers movie: "Come on you apes, you want to live forever?", "I have one rule: everybody fights, no one quits." and "You don't do your job, I will shoot you myself.". Also, at one point he calls in for reinforcements, a group of Gnomes on Mechanostriders who are led by a robot, the group is called "Roughriders", possibly after the self-proclaimed "Roughnecks", the name that the main characters from the movie gave themselves. More likely, it is a homage to former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt's calvary unit The Rough Riders, which fought in the Spanish-American War.
  • The A-Team — When returning the makings of a trap to Admiral Odesyus, he says "I love it when a plan comes together", a line spoken in almost every episode of TV series by Hannibal Smith.
  • The Big Lebowski — In Hellfire Peninsula, the Horde engineering trainer is named Zebig and the Alliance one is named Lebowski.
  • The Black Hole — The bots Maxx A. Million Mk. I, II, and V are a reference to the ominous Maximillian from Disney's movie.
  • The Dark Crystal — The race and culture of the Arakkoa along with the Darkstone of Terokk is a reference to the Skeksis in the 1982 movie.
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still and Army of Darkness — Assistant Klatu and Anchorite Barata reference to these two movies, where the phrase "klaatu, barada, nikto" held importance.
  • The Exorcist — During A [10-30] The Exorcism of Colonel Jules, Colonel Jules floats through the room and Anchorite Barada asks you to make sure nothing interrupts the process. Flying demon mobs spawn in the room which you have to destroy. During this whole sequence, the demon possessing the human also insults you and tries to scare you off with odd noises. Occasionally the body will vomit green stuff.
  • The Simpsons
  • The Sixth Sense — N [15-30] I See Dead Draenei is a reference to Haley Joel Osment's character saying "I see dead people".
  • Short Circuit — N [25-30G2] Mark V is Alive! which is a nod to the robot Number 5's exclamation, "Number Five is alive!" in the movie.
  • The Towering Inferno — Towering Infernals are named after the movie.
  • Three's Company
  • Transformers — Negatron is a nod to the Decepticon leader Megatron.
  • Tremors — A [10-30] A Job for an Intelligent Man is a reference to the movie "Tremors", starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, in which sand worms out in the Nevada desert come up out of the ground and eat people. In this movie, Fred Ward asks Kevin Bacon "Is this a job for an intelligent man?", to which Kevin Bacon replies "Well, show me one and I'll ask him."
  • Total Recall — When walking by the refugees in Shattrath City's lower gate, one of them can be heard saying "Hey, Man? Got some money? I got five kids to feed!" just like Bennie the cab driver from Total Recall.
  • UHF — A [1-30] Red Snapper - Very Tasty!" is a direct quote from the "Wheel of Fish" scene in "UHF" starring "Weird Al" Yankovic.
  • Wayne's World — Nothin' Says Lovin' Like a Big Stinger and its very first paragraph "She will be mine. Oh yes- She will be mine" are a famous catchphrase Wayne uses when talking about Cassandra, the guitar, and other things. Removed in patch 9.1.5.

Music

People

Other

References

 
  1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9qvCTdBLDs
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